Meredith Agrees To Sell Fortune Media Brand For $150 Mln

(RTTNews) - Meredith Corp. (MDP) Friday said it agreed to sell the Fortune media brand to Fortune Media Group Holdings Ltd, wholly owned by Chatchaval Jiaravanon, for $150 million cash.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in 2018.

Chatchaval Jiaravanon is the executive chairman of Thailand's biggest conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group. Jiaravanon will own Fortune as a personal private investment independent of C.P. Group's family businesses. He intends to increase investment in Fortunes's digital capabilities, geographic expansion, and editorial talent as part of a strategy to become the premium business content provider worldwide.

"Our vision is to establish FORTUNE as the world's leading business media brand, with an always-on reach and global relevance," said Mr. Jiaravanon. "The demand for high quality business information is growing, and with further committed investment in technology and brilliant journalism, we believe the outlook for further profitable growth is excellent both for the publication and the events business."

"Our vision is to establish FORTUNE as the world's leading business media brand, with an always-on reach and global relevance," said Mr. Jiaravanon. "The demand for high quality business information is growing, and with further committed investment in technology and brilliant journalism, we believe the outlook for further profitable growth is excellent both for the publication and the events business."

Meredith had acquired 88-year-old Fortune as part of its $1.8 billion acquisition of Time Inc. in January. However, two months later, Meredith announced it was selling Time Inc's news and sports brands, including Time, Fortune, Money, and Sports Illustrated. Meredith sold Time to Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne in September for $190 million.

Meredith plans to use proceeds to pay down debt. Meredith expects to reduce debt by $1 billion in fiscal 2019.